Synod Meeting 2008

Following a decision made at the Synod meeting in September 2008, Synod will no longer meet annually, but rather every 18 months.

This year there will be a half day meeting on 20 September from 2.00 till 5.00 pm at Wesley Church, Lonsdale St, Melbourne.

The meeting will start with a service of worship at which we will install our new moderator Isabel Thomas Dobson. After this we will thank and farewell our current moderator Jason Kioa. As this is a special meeting, membership will be the same as it was for the meeting held in 2008. The next ordinary meeting will not be held until next year, from Friday 14 to Wednesday 19 May 2010.

The Synod meeting after that will be held in November 2011, and in 2012 (the year of the next Assembly meeting) there will be no Synod meeting. This pattern will continue at least until the new system is reviewed in 2013.

For further information, contact Clare Boyd-Macrae on 9251 5210 or email clare.boyd-macrae@victas.uca.org.au.

There will be a special Synod meeting for the installation of our new moderator, Isabel Thomas Dobson and the farewelling of our current moderator Jason Kioa. It will be held at Wesley Uniting Church, Lonsdale Street, on Sunday 20 September from 2pm till 5pm (exact time to be confirmed).

Synod 2010 will be held at La Trobe University, Bundoora. It will start with an opening service on the evening of Friday 14 May 2010 and will conclude by 4pm on Wednesday 19 May.

To view the minutes from the 2008 Synod meeting, please click here.

The Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania voted today to request St Michael’s Uniting Church to remove freeway signs and other media related to its “new faith” advertising campaign because it causes “deep offence to many Christians, Jews and Muslims”.

The proposal also called on the moderator and general secretary of the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania to express its concern to St Michael’s congregation.

The proposal asked St Michael’s to apologise for any offence that the signs may have caused.

The proposal said the Synod should communicate the substance of this resolution to the Victorian and Tasmanian Council of Churches and the equivalent statewide bodies of the Jewish and Islamic faiths.

Lively discussion and debate followed the presentation of the proposal, but it was passed by an overwhelming majority of the delegates. Read the rest of this entry »

A proposal by the justice and international mission (JIM) unit to change the present Uniting Church policy on the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1984 was defeated.

As reported yesterday (‘Discrimination debate deferred’), JIM moved to amend the Synod’s position established in 1993.

JIM director Mark Zirnsak argued that, following amendments to the Victorian legislation, the recommended changes would make the Uniting Church position more consistent. Read the rest of this entry »

The Synod considered going offshore in the quest for ministers.

This follows a blunt assessment of the dire situation presented to the Synod meeting on Monday. Allan Thompson reported that the shortage of Uniting Church ministers is now a “crisis”. Read the rest of this entry »

Ms Robyn Batten introduced the new chair of aged care, Mr Alan Wilkinson, who discussed the past year in aged care and revealed plans for the future.

The Uniting Church’s aged care services represent 12 per cent of all aged care throughout Australia. Mr Wilkinson was proud of the fact that all of its facilities passed government inspections, including 45 unannounced visits. Read the rest of this entry »

The Synod has decided to meet for one day on Sunday 20 September 2009 for the installation of the new moderator.

This follows the historic decision to move from annual gatherings to meetings 18 months apart.

The next full Synod meeting will be at a suitable venue in April or May 2010. The dates and venue remain uncertain. These will be confirmed by the standing committee.

This decision followed impassioned pleas from several Synod members. Read the rest of this entry »

After much discussion and debate, some quite emotional, the Synod has adopted the plan for the future known as On The Way Together.

The final decision on Wednesday morning – taken by consensus – was greeted with warm applause.

Alistair Macrae spoke just before the vote was taken. He affirmed that he fully supported the final wording of the resolution with the changes suggested by the Synod meeting. These included involving schools in the OTWT process.

Many Synod members had asked questions, raised concerns and expressed their anxieties with the debate.

The final outcome ends the deliberations. But it begins a process towards the future.

Reported by Alan Austin

Synod members have been challenged to consider investing in their church to help the bottom line.

BOMAR’s Chris Begg asked the Synod to accept that the church budget will be in deficit probably until at least the end of 2011.

While the church will continue to look at ways to cut costs, the Uniting Church, like all institutions, is realistic about the challenge it will face for the next few years. Read the rest of this entry »